DK - Ranged dps spec, themed more directly at necromancy. Revolves into micro managing several minions at the same time.

Druids - Melee dps, themed after druids of the fang (a reason for them to finally invest on their lore): you spend most time dpsing in humanoid form but activates snake form at key times to apply powerful poisons.

Priests - Ranged dps, themed after exorcism (goes well with demon-themed expansion). Can bring more interesting mechanics to smite and holy fire.

Monks - Ranged dps that uses chi and a bow.

Hunters - Melee dps, hunters will be able to use melee weapons again on this spec, and those old skills like raptor strike will make a comeback. Plus marksman will be reworked to be able to exist petless if the owner wants, with a mechanic similar to grimoire of sacrifice, but only avaliable to MM.

Warrior - Ranged dps spec, with exclusive equipment called "chain-glaive", wich you craft with bladed weapons and a chain. It's a ranged class, but his main attack "glaive toss" has a cast time, so it's like a mage that deals ranged, physical dmg.

Druids - Melee dps, themed after druids of the fang (a reason for them to finally invest on their lore): you spend most time dpsing in humanoid form but activates snake form at key times to apply powerful poisons.

thought about that... but unless bear or cat be heavily reworked (for better), they will feel in denial. They felt like having 4 specs already, Blizzard just saved them to double-balance the same skills by splitting feral and guardian.

Druids - Melee dps, themed after druids of the fang (a reason for them to finally invest on their lore): you spend most time dpsing in humanoid form but activates snake form at key times to apply powerful poisons

Now that I think about it, I would support a fifth spec for druids. And actually, it could be a support spec hehe... I am got strangely attracted to this idea...

Don't worry, lass.....I'll be able to defeat him with my nifty BardMaster 5000 (it's a stripped-down version of the Bardmaster 9000 of course, but upgradeable)Pulls out guitar...starts strumming.Aye...he'll soon be dozing off ta this sweet lullaby; ah one, ah two...

If you read more than just the class name from my post, you'd see it uses the flavor of the class (a wandering musician) without being a "pure support" class. As a healer or spell/mobile DPS, it can very well fit into WoW.

Yes...but other than healing, the need to "play/channel music through an instrument limits (to a degree) what a bard can do in this fashion. More, players of this game have certain expectations from a class...and bards are typically support just as mages are typically DPS. Especially since you are proposing the use of staves as opposed to lutes for spell based DPS....not very bardic at all.

I could see it working, but I don't think it'd work well enough to justify they effort. You could , I suppose, have a sonic based mage equivalent akin to the klaxxi where the user sings instead of channeling an instrument...but its the instrument and playing of that, to me, defines a bard. So, if you wnat that aspect, you are looking at creating an instrument (for a music sub -game?) which Blizzard have done in the past but also creating the opportunities and abilities which require that instrument to be used. That suggests channelled abilities, mainly AoE.

In essence, the Bards stereotypical support role.

Also, Battlemage is much closer to enhancement shaman than paladin. In fact, I once had a theory that human shamans could be explained as a sort of "battlemage" type of character.

Why not just give humans shamans? They do exist in game. Either way, Battlemages have several pathways open within the game already. They woudl just follow the "Same class with a different name" meme used by certain Tauren druids - aka Sunwalkers.

But if you want a spellwielding, plate wearing melee class.....Paladin are a good match (swap names, switch Holy damage for Arcane) as are DKs (aside from the whole undead thing). Both wield spells, both wear plate, both melee.

If they introduced a new class in the next expansion, do you think it would 'have' to have all 3 roles covered, with DPS, healing and tanking? Think of the last two classes added, with the Deathknight and Monk. Both have had a tanking spec, and the monk has all 3. With monks having all three roles covered, this has not lead to any substantial queues for dungeons when leveling. Could you imagine if the next 'new' class is released without a tank spec? The massive influx of re-rollers, and massive queues for dungeons while leveling due to a shortage of that particular role.

I have long thought the next class would be a mail wearer, and looking at what archetypes were in Warcraft 3, there is definitely scope for a 'Tinker', Shadow Hunter (voodoo damage and healing class) and Demon Hunter (though they are traditionally night elves only).

I'd also like to see Ogre as the next playable Horde race. I'd race change to an Ogre Warlock in a heartbeat.

"Video games only exist, so that idiots have something to be good at" - Joe Hildebrand